camper build – It's us

#20 Build 4 – The front area

Tobias — Thu, 14 Jan 2021 13:23:50 +0000

Because of the cold and wet wether outside i can´t do the metal work on the van. Thats why I started refurbishing the cockpit first.

Things done:

Cleaning (a never ending storie. After cleaning everything you only need to wait a second and cleaning starts again)
The small shelf that was mounted became a bigger shelf. The compartment side is covered with selfadhesive foil*
The old Light has been changed to a modern LED light* with same functionality (on, off, on when doors are open)
There was only space for a single DIN stereo and I build in a double DIN Multimedia Radio with CarPlay*
The old front speaker has been changed to Sony speaker*
A USB Power supply with integrated switch and voltmeter* has been installed (connected to the master battery)
the unused single DIN Radio space has been closed with a small storage compartment*.
This storage compartment is now ecuiped with QI charging for my mobile
an amplifier* has been installed for the subwoofer
Radio and amplifier* has been connected to a switch. now I can power it on without ignition switched on and I can turn it of to prevent draining the battery
Beside the switch I can turn on and off the radio key (ignition position).

still needs to be done:

mounting the rear view mirror/camera* (a seperate article will follow)
Speaker cable for the rear speaker*
Shelf needs to fixed with sikaflex*
At the end the seats needs to be mounted again.

* The links are so called affiliate links. This is a fair way to support me and say thank you, because it costs you nothing except the regular price of the item and I get a commission for your purchase which helps me to realize this project and the following.

#19 Build 3 – New 3D sketchup floorplan

Tobias — Wed, 23 Dec 2020 18:44:39 +0000

Today it was raining the whole day. So I did some planning on the PC and created a new floorplan with sketchup.

The permanent installed shower will get a transfomable shower and the kitchen part will be build as a drawer part. But the good news: I will keep my permanent Bed in the back because 1,6 m lenght and 1,2 m width will have 2 m diagonal whats complitly enough. I´m 1,78m tall so there is enough space left.
At this time I planned as much storage as possible but maybe I can cancel some shelfs to get a bigger room.

Enough words. Here is the gallery with different views.

And my second idea with less storage but a better sense for the roomsize.

#18 Build 2 – It´s all about rust…

Tobias — Wed, 23 Dec 2020 11:36:43 +0000

As you could see from the photo of the Build 1 post, there is a lot of rust that needs to be removed. So the last few days have been spent sanding and brushing.
In particular, a lot of work has been done on the entrances on the driver’s and passenger’s side.
But it started with stripping of the van. Since all the necessary sheet metal and spare parts were already included in the purchase, they had to be stored elsewhere. Then the seats and add-on parts were removed and afterwards I started with the main work.
As usual, I rely on machine power and so the angle grinder is my closest ally at the moment. This team is joined by rust converter and primer, so that in the end the decay is stopped for now.
In the second step, the parts that are no longer safe or have holes despite this treatment will be replaced with new sheet metal parts. But first a few photos of the fight against rust part 1….

a rusty screw
slide door entry passenger side
rust converter at the entry passenger side

some impressions from rust

#17 Build 1 – Finaly it´s done…

Tobias — Wed, 23 Dec 2020 10:53:56 +0000

Yes! I bought a van…

“First things don’t happen and second things don’t happen” is the mantra of this purchase. So what didn’t go according that plan, or rather, why did I deviate from it?
We briefly recall my original idea
and here are the deviations:
-Not a classic car but still old (built in 1996). [Apart from the red sticker which denies me some city passes in Germany, this is not a big disadvantage].

So everything doesn’t sound so bad, and it isn’t. However, I have to make the biggest cut in the floor plan. Yes, I wanted the van to be suitable for everyday use, and it is, but with interior dimensions of max. 2.78 m x 1.66 m and min. 2.51 m x 1.32 m, the available space is much smaller than originally assumed. So we need a new floor plan. Among other things, the fixed shower will probably be omitted and also the 140×200 bed will be smaller.

But now it’s time for preparation! There is a lot of rust that needs to be removed. And so the first weeks of the conversion are dominated by grinding, welding, hammering and spackling. The main goal is to get the car through the TÜV and then it is time for the conversion.

The 3D floor plan, or the new ideas about it will come in the next article….

#16 The insulation (environmentally friendly, sustainable, effective)

Tobias — Sun, 20 Dec 2020 09:35:51 +0000

If you want to build a warm weather camper, you can probably neglect this article but for all-season vanlifer this is probably one of the most important topics. Unfortunately, the community is pretty stuck here and everywhere you get Armaflex from Armacell as the miracle cure for vehicle insulation touted. However, if you do a little research, you will quickly discover that Armaflex is used for insulation in refrigeration technology. From a functional point of view, this is not a bad thing, but why aren’t these foam insulation mats also used in house construction or in other areas? If you do a little deeper research, you will immediately be faced with a horror scenario of outgassing plasticizers, and you don’t want that in your bedroom, do you?

This can also be put into perspective somewhat, because the Armaflex also disappears behind a wall and is enclosed for the time being. But a simple covering with felt, as I have already seen, I personally consider questionable. So for me Armaflex is ruled out in any case but what are the alternatives?

Here I am very grateful to Viki, because on her YouTube channel Vanilla Icedream she shows a material which everyone knows but only with intensive research in the field of energy-efficient and sustainable house building is found: Cork!!!

You could actually use the discarded pinboard, but this is interspersed with additional glue, so I use insulating cork. This is baked, or re-expanded. That means that the cork crumbs eject their own resin by heating, which then glues the cork parts together when cooling. 100% nature in other words.

the facts:

material	insulation cork 20mm	Armaflex 19mm
production	natural resource	chemical resource
Environmental compatibility	sustainable (cork oak)	Environmentally harmful
Thermal conductivity	0,032 – 0,04	0,032
Price (germany)	ca. 9,50 €/m²	ca. 11 €/m²
installing	external adhesive without solvent	selfadhesive
handling	Scoring, breaking (crumbly edges)	cut with sharp blade
weight	ca. 1,5 kg/m²	ca. 1,018 kg/m²

insulation cork vs. Armaflex
Since insulating cork is a natural product, the data can of course vary!

If you look at the table, there is actually only one disadvantage with the insulating cork. The weight can tip the scales in the end. To counteract this, I will also follow the idea of Viki and line the walls only with rolled cork in a thickness of 4-8 mm and still use an additional insulation layer such as coconut fiber, hemp or jute. This is similar in processing to “Rockwool” but also sustainable and environmentally friendly. And it fulfills in sum what actually everyone wants. A warm, non-hazardous and environmentally friendly home.

Here are the obligatory links to the recommended products:

insulation cork 20mm*

rolled cork 4mm*

cork glue*

#14 The water supply

Tobias — Tue, 25 Aug 2020 18:01:00 +0000

I have currently planned to use a 100-150 liter tank. This should provide enough reserves to be able to get by without refueling for a few days. Unfortunately I can’t estimate how much water I use on a normal day and so I’m planning a bit bigger.

Now the tank is selected and placed but what happens next?

1. the shower
2. the sink
3. the drinking water tap

What does the construction look like?
From the tank the water is sucked in by a pressure pump via a pre-filter. But this pre-filter only filters out coarse impurities and serves primarily to protect the tracing hardware. From the pump the water is led over a pressure compensation tank and then goes directly to the first T-piece (one inlet, 2 outlets).
– From outlet 1 of the 1st T-piece (TS) the water goes on to the 2nd TS and from there directly to the cold water connection of the tap at the sink & shower (3rd TS) which completes the cold water supply.
- From exit 2 of the 1st TS the water goes to the drinking water filter system and then to the drinking water tap. (There will be a separate contribution for this)
– From exit 2 of the 2nd TS the water goes to the hot water boiler. And from there via a, you guessed it, 4th TS then to the hot water connections of sink & shower.

With this the internal water supply is already finished.

Leaves the disposal. I have decided to do without any chemicals in water consumption and to use only harmless products, so that in most cases I can simply drain the used water under the van. Should I stand in a place where this is not possible, I can simply place a bowl or small canister under the open drain to catch it and dispose of it in a suitable place later. If you don’t want to miss out your shower gel, which smells like foe dust, you have to include a grey water tank, which collects the water in general.

;fresh water tank* – The why should be clear.
pressure water pump* – Self-priming, dry run safe and 2.8 bar are sufficient to get the water to where I need it.
pressure storage tank* – This is so that the water circuit does not run dry every time. Even if the pump is self-priming, you do not want to wait constantly until the water has been pumped from the tank to the tapping point again. So you turn on the tap and water comes immediately.
(drinking) water hose set* – you can’t do without it if you don’t want to flood the van.
Connector set* – T-connectors or Y-connectors and if something was too short you need the I-connector
hose clamps* – So that nothing shakes loose, always screw it on tightly
Water tap for drinking water and rinsing water (3in1)* – In order not to have to install an additional tap that lets out the filtered drinking water, I decided to use this practical sink tap that combines warm, cold and drinking water in one.
shower faucet set in black* – Because it looks cool and as a thermostat version, because I am used to it from home and it is also the most space-saving version, because no additional lever protrudes anywhere. (Alternatively only the fitting in chrome*)

This was the internal feed/supply. With which we did the second step before the first, because the tank has to be filled first. However, since this will be done using a hose/adapter structure based on the Gardena connector system, this is actually something that I don’t plan to do very well, but will simply adapt to the later conditions. It is only worth mentioning that a water filter will also be used in the supply line, which will allow me to get water from standing water without being dirtier after showering than before.

Now the water must flow from the tap somewhere. But there will be a separate contribution to this, because for me this belongs rather in the bathroom or kitchen equipment.

#13 DIY Waschmaschine für unterwegs

Tobias — Fri, 21 Aug 2020 18:00:00 +0000